Zimbabwe fuel price hike sparks protests

Angry protesters barricaded roads with burning tyres and rocks in Zimbabwe on Monday after the government more than doubled the price of fuel in a bid to improve supplies as the country battles its worst gasoline shortages in a decade.

Protesters turned back drivers and blocked buses from carrying passengers in Zimbabwe´s two main cities of Harare and Bulawayo as the main labour federation called for three-day nationwide strike.

Soldiers were deployed at a shopping centre in Bulawayo’s township of Entumbane where protesters looted shops.

Demonstrators in the second city had attacked minibuses heading to the city centre and used burning tyres and stones to block the main routes into town while some schools were turning away pupils fearing for their safety.

Shops closed in downtown Harare as riot police patrolled the streets and a military helicopter flew over the capital.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday night announced a more than 100-percent rise in the price of petrol and diesel in a move he said would end fuel shortages.

“We have suffered enough,” author Philani Nyoni who was part of the protest in Bulawayo.

“The government is now aware that we are not happy with their stupid policies like the fuel price increase,” said Nyoni, calling on the president who is on a tour of Europe, to return home to “sort out things”.

Zimbabwe’s economy has been in a slump for more than a decade, with cash shortages, high unemployment and recently a scarcity of staples such as bread and cooking oil.

In a televised address late Saturday, Mnangagwa said prices of petrol and diesel would more than double to tackle a shortfall caused by increased fuel usage and “rampant” illegal trading.

Petrol prices rose from $1.24 a litre to $3.31 (2.89 euros), with diesel up from $1.36 a litre to $3.11 starting Sunday – one of the highest pump prices in the world.

The main labour alliance, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called for a three-day stay-at-home strike as it said the government had shown a clear lack of empathy for the already overburdened poor.